Off With Her Head
by sewinghearts5
Summary: After years of Jefferson trying to make his magic hat, he starts to capture people who are magical to do the work for him. This time, it doesn't work out too well… (One-Shot) ((WARNING: There may be Once Upon a Time plot holes/lore loops, so please excuse them as fanon/an AU. Thank you!))


Jefferson paced the room, snipping at the air with his scissors, pondering. He was lost in thought, thinking about all the material he bought and the spools of thread he had locked away in his drawers. He had scrapped designs of his hats, some small, some large, but he kept his original design on his work desk. He knew that his design was right and his hat was going to get him back. He just had to make it work. He was getting increasingly irritated, as each day passed and each hat being made, he couldn't manage to make _his_ hat. It seemed simple; sew a purple velvet hat and vola! But he's been stuck making hats for 20 years. He's been getting sick of trying to make his hat.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a door open. He snapped his head towards the door and saw a woman he was keeping capture in the guest's bedroom. She stopped dead, then quickly shut the door, but Jefferson grinned. Finally, the drug wore off. Jefferson stood up quickly and swapped his scissors for a gun, strutting to the door. He clicked the door open and saw the woman scrambling through a drawer, looking for something to defend herself with.

The madman gave a twisted smile, "Watcha looking for?"

The woman snapped her head up, shaking as she shoved the drawer closed. Jefferson giggled; he enjoyed seeing people who were confused. "Not going to talk, aren't ya?"

The woman's eyes locked on Jefferson, her body frozen in peril. He sighed, then walked up to the woman, but she started to stumble backward, keeping a terrified stare at Jefferson. He skipped forward and reached for her wrist, grabbing it tight and yanking it towards him. She yelped and tried to rip herself out of his grip, but he responded with a firm yank and a stare into her eyes, growling, "Do you want to keep your head?"

The woman clamped her jaw shut and nodded her head. Jefferson scoffed, "That's what I thought. Now follow me."

Jefferson dragged her to his workroom, where he was before, throwing her inside. The woman stumbled and grabbed a table to ground herself. Jefferson walked to the other side of the table, leaning his body weight on his arms as he set them on the desk. They caught eyes for several seconds, then Jefferson spoke, "Do you know why you're here?"

The woman shook her head.

"Good, because I love telling newcomers what to do," Jefferson grabbed himself a chair and faced it backward, sitting down and resting his arms on the backrest. He kept his gun at bay, holding it in his right hand at all times. Jefferson cleared his throat.

"Let's start by getting names down. My name is Jefferson."

The woman stammered, shifting her eyes at Jefferson and to his gun. "Elyssa."

Jefferson nodded and sat up straight, "So, _Elyssa_ , why do you think you're here?"

Elyssa shifted her eyes to the side, stuttering, "I-I-I, I don't know..."

He leaned in, resting his chin on the backrest, "I don't know isn't a good enough answer. Why do you think you're here?"

"B-Because you wanna do something bad to me? Hurt me? Torture me?" Her voice got quiet, "Rape me?"

Jefferson contemplated the thought, grinning, "No, not unless you want me to. You're here for a more important reason."

Elyssa looked at the madman with fearful suspense, scared on what he's going to say next. Jefferson loved it when he was in control. He smiled as he straightened his posture, waving his hands around when he was talking.

"You see, you have magic. Like real magic, _magic_ magic. And that sets us apart; you have a radiating essence called _magic_ , and I don't. I _used_ to, but I ran out of it. For a while, I've been sitting here, snipping up fabric and sewing them together with my clammy hands, but I can't manage to make a hat."

Elyssa looked at the table, seeing the rolls of purple velvet and the scattered scissors, sewing needles, threads, and diagrams of a purple top hat. Elyssa looked up and caught gaze with Jefferson.

Elyssa gulped, "I d-don't have magic."

Jefferson chuckled, spinning his gun around his finger, "Yes you do. You just don't know it yet."

She straightened her posture and lifted her chin, "I don't have magic. I have lived my whole life and I've never done anything, magically."

Jefferson scoffed, flipping his gun in the air and then catching it, making a playful tone, " _Yes you do!~_ "

"No, I-" Elyssa caught herself before she barked in irritation. She closed her eyes and gave a submissive sigh. Jefferson grinned.

"Well, do you know how to sow?" He said firmly.

Elyssa paused for a second, then nodded.

"Good, then all you have to do is sew a hat, then the magic will come later."

Elyssa eyed Jefferson, shifting her eyes between his eyes and the diagram on the table. She mumbled, "OK, alright."

He grinned, "Just make _this_ hat," He slid the hat diagram towards Elyssa on the table, "And you'll be set free!"

She looked at the diagram, looking suspicious and sort of clueless. She looked up and spoke, less afraid, "Why do you want a hat so badly?"

Jefferson didn't hesitate, responding like it was clockwork, "It's a commission from someone; they want a magic hat."

Elyssa stopped, "Why is it so hard for you to make a magic hat?"

"Like I said, I ran _out_ of magic."

"Why don't you just talk to your commissioner? Could you offer a refund?"

"He's a tough customer; he won't accept a refund."

"Could you tell him you're out of this, _magic_?"

He started to grit his teeth, realizing that his plan might not make it through, "Like I said, he's a tough customer."

She was gaining on Jefferson, the confidence in her voice starting to grow, "Are you sure this is just for a customer, or are you trying to get me to do your work?"

Jefferson rubbed his forehead as he got up and off the chair, his eyebrows furring in anger, "It's none of your problems. Just make the hat and you'll be set free."

Elyssa stood straight and pushed her fear aside, "I'm not going to do labor for something they can easily do! You think that you're entitled to keep me here and tell me what to do, but I can walk out of this room right know if I wanted to!"

He growled from his clamped teeth, pinching the bridge of his nose, " _It's_ _ **not**_ _labor; I already told you that I can't make a hat so I need someone else to._ "

"Why does a person with 'magic' need to make the hat? Can't you just make the hat and I can, I don't know, _magic-ify_ it?"

Jefferson held onto his last nerve, taking a strangled breath and speaking with a hoarse voice, " _That's not how it works. I need someone with_ _ **magic**_ _to make the hat, or else it won't_ _ **work**_ _!_ "

"Why don't you use a hat before that's already ma-"

Jefferson snapped and sharply turned towards her, almost screaming, " _ **I fucking can't! Because a cunt in Wonderland stole my hat and left me to starve, robbing me of ever seeing my daughter again!**_ "

The room fell silent, Elyssa looking at Jefferson with a remorse, her eyes glossing over with a guilt. Jefferson cursed under his breath and paced the room, kicking over his chair he had sat on before. He held his face in his hands as he cursed over and over, getting louder in volume. Congrats Jefferson, you fucked up and just spilled your darkest secret on a random girl you met four hours ago.

Jefferson took a clock from the wall and chucked it against the opposite wall, screaming: " ** _FUCK!_** " The glass from the clock shattered across the floor, Elyssa jumping and Jefferson lost ecstasy of released fury.

Elyssa's breath hitched as she started to inch towards the door, but Jefferson caught her moving away. He grabbed his gun and instinctively shot towards her, the explosions of the gun echoing throughout the room. There was two bullet holes and a hearty scream from the woman as she moved away from the range of fire. She collapsed to the ground, Jefferson hearing her legs scuffle. When the smoke cleared, Elyssa had disappeared, but Jefferson knew better. He gave a crazed smile, thinking this situation quite funny, the sight of Elyssa trying to play hide and seek with him. He set the gun down and started to laugh. He cackled, his laughs echoing in the room, holding the corners of the table to stop himself from falling.

Before he could calm himself down enough, he tried to speak, still holding his weight on the desk, "You know? I was getting _really_ getting to like you, Elyssa. Like I saw something in you. But, you blew it! You blew it for _everyone_!" He flung his arms around, still laughing. He didn't know why it was funny, but once he heard the scuttle of feet, the joke ceased.

After a couple beats, he managed to get himself to turn the corner of the table, hastily grabbing a pair of scissors, holding the blades open and holding it in the middle with his bare hands. Jefferson held it tight like a knife, the scissors wide open and slicing his fingers as he grabbed tighter. He looked around and saw that Elyssa had moved away and hid. Jefferson cocked his head and smiled, giggling a little bit from his previous fit. He took the scissors and slammed it into the table, wincing as he cut his skin against the cool metal of the scissors. He ripped the scissors back out and repeated the action, creeping closer to the end of his desk, creating a trail of holes in his desk. He let the scissors drag along the desk, creating an unstable line in the wood. Splinters pulled themselves up from the track, creating a horrid track on the desk, appearing like a lone bike track in a messy snowy hill.

Jefferson was glad he was paying attention because he could hear a footstep behind him. He stopped dead, turning around and catching Elyssa swinging something towards him. Jefferson grabbed her wrist, stopping her from slamming a sewing box into his head. He looked at the variety of pins and needles sticking into the cotton laced top, Elyssa aiming to stab that _thing_ in his face. Jefferson snickered, trying to bite back his grin. Elyssa snagged a needle from the box and cut Jefferson's wrist, making him flinch. Jefferson growled as he used his scissor hand and jabbed it into Elyssa's stomach, twisting the blade as she screamed in pain. She dropped the box and tried to rip her grip out of Jefferson's hand, but her attempts were useless.

Jefferson chuckled and pushed her back against a wall, digging the blade deeper, "It hurts, doesn't it? It hurts to be betrayed, betrayed by a man that you believed in."

Elyssa started to cry, her tears pinching her eyes. He tilted the knife upward into her body, trying to plunge her into more agony, speaking with a harsh tongue, "Why are you crying? Is it out of pain, or is it out of your need to weep?"

She tried to use her open hand to push his hand away, but Jefferson caught her movement and ripped the scissors out of her stomach, taking Elyssa's hand and slamming it into the wall. He took the scissors and stabbed it through her hand, sticking it to the wall as Elyssa shrieked in agony, shifting her body to cradle her torn hand. Jefferson stepped back, reaching for another pair of scissors, and upon finding them, he pinned her other hand to the wall with a forceful slam of the scissors. She had fought and kicked to keep both her hands, but she had failed, sobbing in pain as she was pinned against the wall like Jesus on the cross.

Jefferson stood back and admired the marvel of her, seeing the velvet red hands soaked in blood and the salty tears painted on her face. He smiled, seeing how pretty her wavy hair was, and how beautiful it looked bleached and dyed white. He couldn't wipe his glee from his face, admiring the beauty of her. He was going to have fun with this one.

He reached to the back of the room, grabbing an axe that he crafted in his spare time. He hauled the axe over and glanced at Elyssa, catching her face of terror as she watched the axe head drag against the smooth wooden floor.

He held the axe bottom proudly like a staff, straightening his posture as he smiled. "I believe you have crimes to confess?"

The woman tried to speak through her shallow breaths, but all she mouthed was the word "no".

Jefferson nodded, "Do you not wish to confess your crimes, mistress? Please choose your words wisely."

Elyssa cried, "I didn't do anything wrong! You brought me here!"

Jefferson scoffed and tried not to break his act, "What shame, brought here against thyn will but cheated out of life near the end?"

Elyssa nodded as she held her head down in sorrow, sobbing harder as her hands twitched in pain. Jefferson couldn't help himself from snorting, seeing someone in such grief and complaining about these kinda problems. His mind felt sour, as he knew that laughing at someone's pain is bad, but he accepted his mind was fucked.

Eventually, he walked up and lifted her chin, looking into her watery, crystal blue eyes. He smiled as he walked back, picking up the axe, "Now, any last words for your king?"

Elyssa's voice hitched as she tried to speak, "I-". She tried to catch her breath, "If I have magic, could I stop you from killing me?"

Jefferson shrugged, laying the axe on his shoulder, "Let's find out, shall we?"

Jefferson grabbed onto the axe bottom as if he were to swing it. He yelled, " **Off with her head!** ". He swayed the heavy axe, slamming it straight into the wall as it cleanly sliced off her head. Her head slid off the silver axe head and fell to the ground with a splat, blood trailing it and soaking up the floor. Her hair was cut off from where the axe hit, leaving a pile of hair on her shoulders and a bob of hair following her head.

Guess Jefferson was wrong; she didn't have magic after all.


End file.
